Plan to end Tas suspended sentencing

Tasmania's judicial system should replace suspended prison sentences with other penalties, including full-time jail or home detention, says a panel of experts.

The state's Sentencing Advisory Council on Wednesday released its final report on phasing out suspended sentences - where offenders receive a jail sentence but do not serve any time in prison - compiled at the request of government which has promised to shelve the penalty.

The council report recommended suspended sentences be phased out over a period of at least five years.

Judges and magistrates would be given other options to penalise offenders.

Depending on the severity of the offence, the options could include prison, home detention, rehabilitation, a fine, or a community corrections order of up to three years.

The latter penalty would be a new addition to the sentencing framework.

It is a community-based sentence which is less serious than imprisonment, but more severe than a fine or treatment order.

"These reforms will create a modern and effective sentencing framework which will enhance community safety through a judicious combination of punitive, deterrent and rehabilitative measures," council chairman Arie Freiberg said.

Tasmania's use of suspended sentences is higher than any other state or territory, the council found.

In 2013-14 Tasmania's Supreme Court used the fully suspended sentence option as the principal penalty in 37.9 per cent of cases compared to a national average of 16.7 per cent.